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“The book is always better than the movie” is a common saying, but, depending on what he/she plans to get out of his/her downtime this may not be true. Managing to condense a novel that would take days to read into a mere two hours is quite a feat. Movies are a good alternative for those who don’t want to spend hours, days or even weeks with their nose in a book so it can be rather convenient for those who do not have the time to dedicate to pages of words.

While there is always something lost in translation, there can also be something gained from the visual manifestation of the book. For those that have trouble envisioning a world that is not their own, it could be entirely beneficial. The characters are created to be appealing to the audience, no thought required. The set requires no fantastic, flowery description and is crystal clear, no miscommunications between the writer and the watcher.

It doesn’t matter how good the movie is, most readers will find something to complain about, the set, the makeup, the cast. Since the imagination is what guides the reader through the book it’s reasonable for the majority of the reading population to conceptualize the author’s work differently. However, there are some movies that didn’t even come close the viewers’ fantasies, one of which being the Twilight Saga. IMDB users ranked it at a low 5.4, New Moon at 4.5, and Eclipse at 4.7 and Rotten Tomatoes had very little good to say about all three movies.

Here is a short list popular books turned movies coming soon to theaters:

College summer/fall applications opened August 1, however many students will wait until the last minute to apply. This is an attempt to define the “last minute” for this year’s seniors.

There are three types of applications, early action, early decision, and a regular app. Some schools offer two early decision periods. Early action is non-binding and allows the applicant to apply early to other colleges. Early decision, however, is binding and the student is not allowed to apply to other colleges. Both of the former application plans allow students to apply regular admission to other colleges in the spring. Regular admission is beneficial for the student who intends to bring up his or her GPA significantly senior year.

If wanting to apply to a university’s honors college, look into the deadline for that specific college as it usually varies from regular application deadlines.

Application dates for some of the major universities in Texas are as follows:

Name of University

Early Decision

Early Action

Regular Admission

A&M

—

Dec 1

Jan 15

TCU

—

—

Feb 15

Texas State

—

—

May 1

Texas Tech

—

May 1

Aug 1

UT Austin

—

—

Dec 1

UTSA

—

Mar 1

Jun 1

Rice University

—

—

Jan 2

Other college deadlines can be found online at either the university’s website or at College Board. Also, College Board offers a helpful calendar that organizes important dates during senior year.

Based on the acclaimed young adult novel by Pittacus Lore, I Am Number Four is a science fiction thriller, catching the audience’s attention from the first scene, as Number 3 and his guardian are tracked down and killed by the Mogadorians in Kenya.

The trailer properly conveys the intensity of the film and, unlike other movies, I Am Number Four is not simply filler in between scenes given away in the movie’s teaser.

Some critics have compared it to the Twilight movies and others have argued that it has more of a comic book feel. The movie is similar to movies Push, Jumper and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. It’s quirky dialogue gives it a real-life feel.

Alex Pettyfer plays the main character John in the movie, with one of his best performances yet. His acting skills have greatly improved since the cliche spy movie (why actors must work for Disney Channel or be in terrible spy movie or both at a young age, I do not know) Alex Rider: Operation Storm Breaker.

While this movie is worth the ridiculously priced movie ticket, I do encourage going during daylight hours; it may save a few more than a couple of bucks which could later be put towards infinitely rising gas prices.

The Visual Art Scholastic Event (VASE) which is a state UIL art competition will take place on April 8-9, at Clear Fall High School, Clear Creek ISD near Houston. Only 2,082 of the total 23,907 registered entries at 2010 regional competitions qualified for this competition. That’s about 9%, which puts five of our students in this elite group.

Sophomore Nicole Amor transferred a photo onto a canvas, using mixed media including acrylic, strips of cloth and beads, to create her piece named “Women.” The work has two subjects, butterflies and women.

“Butterflies have a lot to do with how we are; when they migrate, they’re unified, just like women,” Amor said. “They are both beautiful and delicate and one.”

Cordell Tong, a senior in Mrs. Hoffman’s Art I Pre-AP class created a lion mask using magazine cylinders which he titled “Fierce,” junior Mary Walker entered a sculpture, a ring made of silver, entitled “Petals of Essence. ” Walker is a member of Ms. Tsukifuji’s sixth period 2D Art Portfolio AP class. Madeline Moser, a sophomore in Ms. Tsukifuji’s Sculpture II class, created a sculpture entitled “8-Bit Terror.” Lastly, sophomore Andy Wilson won with his painting of Captain Ahab, which he named “Moby Dick.”

While Wilson insists that there was no deeper meaning to his artwork, he said his focus was to, “express emotion through technique.”

“I just wanted to express a lot of tension and movement,” Wilson said.